Also, the scar? I saw it for the first time, and I think it's not going to be that bad. It's a very thin line and the surgeon did a fantastic job cutting right in the natural line of my skin. Once the swelling and redness go away, it should be nearly invisible. If it weren't for the fact that I'll be wearing a strapless dress to my wedding in under four months, with my hair up and my neck on prominent display, I wouldn't care at all, and in fact would think it's kind of cool. Perhaps by the time the wedding rolls around, I will already feel a bond to the scar and won't mind its presence. We'll have to see. But really, you can all decide for yourselves:
Anyway, back to the story: So, the surgeon gave me the all-clear and was writing out the paperwork for my blood tests when my phone rang. I wouldn't normally have answered my phone in that situation, but I checked and it was Torsten, and given that he knew that I was at the doctor, I figured it was urgent.
And it was. Apparently he'd used the bathroom right after arriving at work and discovered blood in his urine. And oh my god, do you know how scary it is to hear that your fiancé has been peeing blood? I can't even imagine how scary it was for him to actually SEE the blood. Somehow the idea of blood coming from a place where it just really should NOT be is petrifying, much more so than a lot of other medical issues. It's just so immediate.
Anyway, he was calling from the road, because his boss was driving him to the ER to get it checked out. Of course, not the ER of the hospital I was currently at. So I raced to the outpatient lab to get my blood drawn, almost screamed when I had to wait five minutes for it to happen, and then got a cab over to the hospital to meet Torsten in the ER waiting room.
It's amazing how frustrating it is not to be with someone when you think something is happening to them. Like, what could I do? I don't know shit about medical anything, and I had no idea what could be causing him to pee blood, and even less of an idea how to fix it. He was already THERE, at the hospital, with doctors who might actually be able to help him. But it was KILLING ME that I wasn't there with him. Like my presence would somehow, magically, make a difference.
It didn't, of course. But everything was fine. At first the doctors thought he had a prostate infection, which sounds awful but would only have required a course of antibiotics to treat. But all the tests came back negative, and in the end it turned out to be what was likely a very, very small kidney stone. If that's what it really was, he was very lucky, because those things usually hurt almost as much as childbirth, from what I'm told, and this one hardly hurt at all. But it did appear that that's what it was, and it seemed that he passed it while at the hospital, so after that he was given the all-clear and we left, four hours later.
So, overall, mildly traumatic for both of us? But an ultimate result of a clean bill of health, although Torsten does need to follow up with a urologist in the next couple weeks. And also, a half day of work, and who doesn't appreciate those? Although I do have to say that even if I didn't like my job (and I do happen to like my job), being at work STILL would have been preferable to the interminable waiting that accompanies any visit to the ER.
Oh, but the other fun thing about the ER visit? When I got to work around at around 1 p.m., with my surgery scar newly visible and gauze taped to my inner elbow, everyone thought that I had had some sort of Traumatizing Medical Incident that morning, but they were all too afraid to ask. I set a few people straight on what had happened, but I didn't get to everyone, and as a result, people are TOTALLY tiptoeing around me. It's kind of awesome.
I do have to say, though, that I'm starting to feel that if I don't see the inside of another hospital for quite awhile, it will still be too soon. But, in the spirit of misery loving company, I totally want to hear YOUR hospital stories. So, tell me: Have you ever been to the ER? What for? Did you have to wait forever? Did everything turn out okay?
My only ER worthy injury was a couple of years ago. My dog broke my nose. Hard doggy skull with the force of a full on sprint into delicate human nose makes for bad experience. My time at the hospital really wasn't all that bad except I had to tell the story to EVERYONE I came in contact with. No one would believe my dog actually broke my nose.
ReplyDeleteThat scar is beautiful (from the aspect of a clean line, small, will soon be untraceable to the untrained eye) - and looks like it's already healing nicely! Yay! So sorry for Torsten's experience. What a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, I don't have any good hospital stories about myself. But, I remember in high school, I was dating a guy. It was the first time I dated someone in the grown-up sense (and not in THAT way). I knew his family and hung out with them. Anyway, it was winter and he went to jump on a sled to go down an icy street. Only the sled didn't budge and he went flying. He got a huge gash in his chin. Next thing I recall was being in his parents big fancy SUV driving to the hospital. And I remember them being on the phone to their plastic surgeon (now that I think about it, I'm not sure if he was a friend or if he had already provided them services. wink wink). Anyway, the boyfriend ended up being fine (22 stitches later), especially after the plastic surgeon made sure the wound was perfectly closed.
wow, VERY scary!
ReplyDeleteI sliced open my finger on my left hand only a few months before my wedding. Of course, I was traumatized that in all the pictures of my hand with my beautiful rings, all you would see is this ugly scar.
I used polysporin like crazy and it healed enough so you could barely tell.
But if you are VERY sensitive about it, may I suggest a simple pearl necklace?
I've only been to the ER once. I fell down 2 steps and thought I broke my ankle. It was just a severe sprain. I was one of only 3 patients so I didn't have to wait long. Glad everything turned out okay with you two.
ReplyDeleteYAY - that scar doesn't look bad AT ALL! I'm sure it will not even be noticeable in 4 months. SCARY about Torsten -- glad he's okay!
ReplyDeleteScary hospital story: several years ago, my husband was cutting up potatoes for dinner with a rather large butcher knife. My back was turned to him when I heard him say, "I just cut off my F-ing thumb!" And when I turned around, sure enough, he had cut off the tip of his thumb (the fleshy part above the nail) and blood was everywhere. The triage nurse at the ER applied a pressure bandage, and then we had to wait forever (like 5ish hours) to be called back. In the end, they just cauterized it and bandaged it up and sent us home. It took about a year to fully heal up, and his thumb is still a little mishapen on the end. ~LA
I have no ER stories. Which is either LAME or GOOD. :)
ReplyDeleteYikes! I'm glad everything turned out ok, and I agree that your scar is healing up really well.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to the ER since I was a kid and broke my leg (walking down our deck stairs with ice skates on...I was a smart one!). But I had to bring my sister a couple of years ago - she ended up having a kidney infection, so she was in a lot of pain. That sucked. I would rather be there myself than have to go with a family member.
Oh lord. The only times I've ever been to the hospital have been the emergency room, like last summer when I hurt my back. It's hard to feel sympathetic for others there when you are in pain, so everyone that walked in I was like, "Screw your severed finger! I need drugs!"
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I'm not a triage nurse, huh?
Back when we were dating my husband was moving the very last box out of his old apartment and missed the very last step, re injuring the ankle he shattered in High School. He called me at work to tell me he hurt himself but was fine. I of course did not believe him and rushed home to find the largest ankle I had ever seen. I forced him to go to the ER and when we got there I parked and helped him hop in. When we close to the doors someone came running out with a wheelchair and yelled at me for not dropping him off at the door. It was only then that I realized there was a completely HIDDEN from view turn around where you can drop off patients...oh well.
ReplyDeleteTurns out he didn't break his ankle just sprained it on both sides. The doctor actually told him he'd have been better off breaking it.
Never you fear, he still makes fun of me for making him hop across the parking lot!
My comment is getting too long, I'll just post it on my blog instead.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the scar looks like it won't be bad AT ALL.
ReplyDeleteWhen you started off yesterday with "funny story" when you told me about this? I actually thought it was going to be funny, and then I was admittedly horrified. But, again, I'm glad he's ok, and that everything's ok, and PHEW I hate hospitals so can we talk about something else now?
ReplyDelete:)
Our very first night at my parent's place over Christmas, I ended up in the ER. All the tests came back inconclusive and in the meantime, they left me in a back curtained area, without my Dad who had driven me there at 3am and NOBODY checked on me for over an HOUR! I could've died back there and nobody would've known.
ReplyDeleteAlmost as annoying was when I went to check in to give birth and the ER receptionist took FOR. EVER. I just wanted to grab her and give her a good shake! Wake up, lady! In pain! and in labour! Get a move on, dammit!
I don't think your scar will be bad at all!
ReplyDeleteI blew out my knee playing girls football in university. I sat in agony for about 2 hours. When I finally saw a doctor, it was also discovered that I have frostbite on both ears. Good times.
I don't have an ER story of my own, but my older son nearly died in one several years ago. He came home early from school with a 104 temp. On the advice of a nurse, I took him to an urgent care facility who did blood tests and said, "Get this kid to the hospital. STAT!"
ReplyDeleteThey gave me all the papers I needed and away we went.
The papers were ignored, and we sat there for four hours while his appendix ruptured. He was in the hospital for a week. During that time I changed his bedding, logged his fluid intake and output, monitored his wound, etc.
Now I know why the folks at the Urgent Care clinic asked me, "Are you SURE you want to take him to THAT hospital?"
Being epileptic, I've seen ER's too many times! The worst part for me is when they give me an IV and the medication is COLD. Most Horrible Feeling Ever.
ReplyDeleteAnother time I had woken up with extreme pain in my abdomen and, after convincing my parents that I was not faking to miss church, they took me to the ER. No one was quite sure what was happening, Crohns disease was being tossed around, they were starving me in case I needed surgery, then they needed my stomach to have something in it so they could do an ultrasound but I still couldn't eat anything! Saline drip through IV and one ultrasound later they discharged me with a prescription for antibiotics and the diagnosis of an infected bowel lining. it SUCKED.
Oh. Hell yes......Twice this year.
ReplyDeleteAnd one visit I documented HERE:
http://fabulouslyoutthere.blogspot.com/2008/06/emergency-room-at-mgh-anyone-so.html
:)
Oh my gosh, you two! Poor things! Glad to hear that everything is okay though. The scar will be completely faded by the time your wedding is here.
ReplyDeleteI had gallstones as a child...they very large and had to be surgically removed, along with my gallbladder. I have a nice 3½ inch scar on my belly as a reminder.
i've seen the scar in person, and i can attest that in my Highly Professional Medical Opinion, i think it'll be teeeeny and just a little white line by the wedding.
ReplyDeletehmm.. best ER story is probably when i ripped my toenail off while dancing in a club in NYC, but not ALL the way off, just so it was.. like.. sticking straight up from my foot, and stuck that way. i chose to FLY BACK to dc the next day (with my toe wrapped in tp) and hobbled into the ER that way when i landed. the staff were quite amused by all aspects of my story.
I'm really glad both you and Torsten are well.
ReplyDeleteI went to the ER once, the summer after my junior year of college. I had achillies tendonitis (ouch, and not bothering to look up how to spell those words) but it turned out fine, and got me out of waitressing fora whole week!
I have been to the ER a few times. The last one I thought that my appendix was about to burst turns out it was a huge ovarian cyst (The size of an orange) that grew in the matter of 4 months since my ob/gyn appt.
ReplyDeletethe pain was incredible and I left the ER wtih a new perscription for the pain and an emergency appointment to my ob/gyn who removed it a week later in the hospital.
It is never fun!
I am glad that the two of you are okay.
The scar looks good, he did a great job.
When I had my colonoscopy, I felt nauseous when I got to the car. I was still not making much sense due to the latent effects of the general anaestesia and I told Aaron I wanted to throw up. And I was insisting on throwing up in a cup in his car because I didn't want to walk back to the hospital. He said no. So I said fine, I'll just throw up in the garage. He wouldn't let me, which really- it's a hospital parking lot. Puking is like practically encouraged. All I remember is riding on an elevator with some people in wheelchairs demanding that Aaron let me throw up RIGHT THERE.
ReplyDeleteI had kidney stones once - two at the same time. Worst pain of my entire life! I went to the regular doctor though, who then sent me to the hospital, so I didn't have to wait in the ER.
ReplyDeleteWhen I had the follow-up at the urologist, I was the only person there under 80, and the nurse asked me if I was there to pick up my grandparent. Awesome.
I am not sure if we had "met" yet but back in December I cracked my head open from fainting. Thanks fever! I posted about my ER experience:
ReplyDeletehttp://sizzlesays.wordpress.com/2007/12/20/down-she-goes/
I still sometimes have residual pain and my forgetfulness. Though the memory issues could be my age. ;-)
The scar is barely visible- glad you are ok.
Yes I've been to the ER many many times. I'll just pick one story. High school senior year. We got in an accident. I thought I was fine at first and actually went to work after the accident. Went home after work and found I could hardly breathe. Turns out I had broken a rib and punctured a lung. I was apparently very lucky in that the lung was only barely punctured and so didn't have to be inflated. Had to sleep in the lazy boy recliner for a month b/c it hurt too much to sleep horizonatally.
ReplyDeletei had to go to the emergency room with SUNBURN. i had really bad burns , and my skin was falling off and i could not move. i got shots and had to stay overnight.
ReplyDeleteFOR SUNBURN.
Hi Jess,
ReplyDeleteI have a scar similar to yours from a surgery I had three years ago. My brother got married soon after and I was a bridesmaid. I wore a necklace that hung over the scar area and no one could even tell there was a scar. I don't know what your jewelry plans for your wedding are, but that might be an option to disguise the scar a little bit more. Just a thought. : )
I have many ER stories. The worst was when Derick bit THROUGH his tongue when he was really little and he needed 8 stitches. It was awful.
ReplyDeleteGlad all is well!
ReplyDeleteGod, even the thought of a kidney stone makes my shoulders start to hunch up around my neck. I don't think I'm in real danger of developing one, but they've always made me queasy.
The scar does not look bad AT ALL to me, seriously!
ReplyDeletePEEING BLOOD. Oh. my. god. I would DIE.
I've never been to the ER for myself (KNOCK WOOOOOD), but we brought AD once when she was a baby and it was the middle of the night on a weekend and she wouldn't stop screaming. Diagnosis: idiot newbies.
Hmmm... I have three boys and I could probably write a BOOK about the millions of ER visits that we have had through the years. I will just say that between my 3 boys and my husband combined they have broken every possible bone in the human body and I paid for the new East Wing at our local hospital all by myself...
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I think that scar will heal and blend nicely! Yay!
ReplyDeleteI had to go to the ER in college when I sliced the tip of my thumb off with a scissors... on a Sunday. Because my wound was not at all life threatening, I had to wait FOREVER. Like five hours, I think! Then, 30 minutes of care.
That scar will totally be minimal for the wedding. Your surgeon did a great job.
ReplyDeleteDude, I go get my blood drawn about every other day these days, and I hate it if they make me wait for even 10 minutes. Also it's painful every frackin' time, and this makes me very glad all over again that I'm not a diabetic.
Poor Torsten and you! yipe! I've never been to the ER. The only time I've been in the hospital was for giving birth x3.
ReplyDeleteHow scary! I'm glad he's okay.
ReplyDelete& your scar is definitely nothing bad!
I went to the ER last after my kids' birthday party (this April) because I was having chest pains and shortness of breath.
ReplyDeleteAfter being evaluated for a) a heart attack; b) for a blood clot in my lungs and c) a host of autoimmune disorders, it was determined that I was in fact just having a panic attack.
$3000 worth of medical bills to tell me that I'm just mental.
The only time I've ever been in the emergency room (the only time I've gone to the hospital other than to see other peoples' babies, in fact) was when I was 6 or 7... I cracked my head open and had to get stitches. I actually wrote about it here, so I won't write out the whole thing in this comment. :)
ReplyDeleteHope you're doing really well... your scar looks like it's going to heal nicely.
Peeing blood doesn't scare me much because there's nothing fatal it can be---unlike, say, blood coming out of ear or mouth, like in the movies when you know someone is toast. Peeing blood is "something painful/uncomfortable and embarrassing": bladder, kidney, urinary tract. But the story still made my heart race!
ReplyDeleteI've only been to the ER twice in my life: once when my brother got his hand slammed in a car door (I did the slamming, but it was an accident) and his hand was TOTALLY flat and TOTALLY purple (and TOTALLY fine, as it turned out); and once when my firstborn, then a toddler, fell off the bed and his tooth went right through his lip (he didn't even need a stitch, as it turned out).
Oh! I can't believe I forgot one: I got in a bad car accident when I was 17 and was taken to the ER. But I was fine (glass coming out of my scalp for months, that's all), and we all KNEW I was fine, so it didn't leave much of an impression.
ReplyDeletewhen joe left work early to head to the er for pain in his side and then called to tell me, "oh, they're prepping me for emergency surgery" i could barely concentrate to record my news so i could go be with him! then, after freaking him out, the doctor came back and said, "nevermind. we were wrong. you don't need surgery after all."
ReplyDeleteYour scar is lookin' great, clean and I'm sure it'll heal up quite nicely given the chance :)
ReplyDeleteEeek! Kidney stones! My partner recently had a kidney stone scare and was in an immense amount of pain, like screaming agony! Glad Torsten didn't have to go through that!
Whew!
ReplyDeleteKidney stone was my first guess. I can't imagine being away from someone and worrying like that. Luckily it was nothing more!
Your cut looks like it will heal nicely!
Your scar looks like it's going to be barely visible, seriously.
ReplyDeleteHospital story- when I was 10 I broke my arm at school, and it took about 40 mins to get to a hospital between the school deciding it was broken and my parents getting me and all that. Then I had to sit in the ER for over an hour with it just propped up on a pillow, waiting for an x-ray. Then they twisted it all around for the pictures, then I had to wait to get it casted. I really thought I was going to die it hurt so bad. So... I guess that's not so bad, actually, but it's all I've got! :)
I've never been in hospital. I haven't broken any bones, or been that sick, or had an operation. Lucky me :) Especially because blood and hospital smell both make me quesy.
ReplyDeleteYour scar looks great, it'll fade and get better in no time! Glad to hear everything post-op is going well!
ReplyDeleteFor one week post-op, I think the scar looks great!
ReplyDeleteI have been to the ER for myself 3 times, that were kidney infection/stone related. (I was there 3 other times, 2 for car accidents, one for being burned quite badly at work) You are not wrong about the pain. I have given birth without drugs, and I have experienced passing kidney stones. I would birth quadruplets without drugs over the stones any day.
I think you know the story of Bud and the toilet seat and the ER. By far the worst.
It looks like that scar is going to be pretty small! Did the doctor say you could use anything to make it heal as well as possible (neosporin?)
ReplyDeleteI've been to the ER too many times to count when my father had Cancer and I'm not a fan of the ER at our local hospital. I think they wanted to haul me to jail. LOL
ReplyDeleteGlad you are okay though and hope things go okay with your fiance!
I have too many hospital stories but they all include long waits, someone usually vomiting in the waiting room, and my husband and I getting really REALLY aggravated.
ReplyDeleteThe scar though, not that bad. It looks like it should heal very nicely.
p.s. only 4 more months!? seriously, where does the time go?
One of my ER experiences involved me, gym class, and volleyball. I was sprinting to get a ball and my foot didn't go with the rest of my body. My foot stopped, I kept going, and there was a pop. It hurt like crazy and was super fat so I went to the ER for X-rays because my regular doctor couldn't do them. I waited for a few hours to find out it was a bad sprain and got some crutches and an ace bandage.
ReplyDeleteAnother time I was really little and wrecked my bike. I flew over the handle bars and busted my chin open. There was lots of blood and I had to get 10 stitches. It sucked.
Hospital experiences are so scary. Glad everything worked out with Torsten and your visit. As far as ER visits for me, my most memorable one was after a car accident, strapped down to the backboard with a huge neck brace on my neck. Tons of people milling about, asking questions rapid fire and no one could reach my friends. My family lived in another state at the time. Overall scary!
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you get or better yet, MAKE, a pretty purple choker-y type necklace to wear with your gorgeous and strapless wedding gown? You could make it all crystally and beautiful. Hide the (by then probably not even noticeable) scar and it'll match your shoes!
ReplyDeleteI was sent to the ER this week by my doc, because of shortness of breath and leg pains - turns out that if they think you have a blood clot that has traveled to your lungs, you don't have to wait long to get in! They did bloodwork quickly, but never did a leg ultrasound, which my doctor had requested, saying my bloodwork was normal. In my follow-up visit with my family doctor (which they said to have this week) I was told that my bloodwork showed the marker for a blood clot! And was sent for a leg scan IMMEDIATELY. Because, you see, it was 2 days after the ER visit. Yeah. I didn't want to go to the same hospital, but the better one couldn't do the scan that day, and geez, if I did have a clot, I didn't want to wait any longer. So, off I went. Well, no clot, blood flow to the leg fine. Goodbye! Family doctor calls and says call again next week if not better. I'm really REALLY glad not to have a clot, but that whole deal was frustrating.
ReplyDeleteThat is one awesome scar, lady.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I'm glad Torsten is okay!
ReplyDelete